Denison Secures Indigenous Backing for Wheeler River

Denison Mines (TSX:DML,NYSEAMERICAN:DNN) announced that it has secured formal indigenous backing for its flagship Wheeler River uranium project after the Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation (PBCN) withdrew a lawsuit challenging the development.

The First Nation filed the legal challenge in November last year, seeking to quash the provincial environmental assessment approved by Environment Minister Travis Keisig the previous July.

At the time of the filing, PBCN argued the province’s consultation process was “inadequate and not meaningful.” PBCN Chief Peter Beatty stated the government only provided a six-week window to review Denison’s environmental impact statement without supplying necessary capacity funding.

Beatty also asserted that while PBCN signed an adhesion to Treaty 6, the First Nation’s traditional hunting and fishing rights extend into the Treaty 10 territory where the mine is located.

Denison disputed the allegations at the time, citing direct engagement with PBCN since March 2023 and the execution of an independent environmental monitoring agreement.

The Wheeler River project secured federal construction licenses in February. Denison subsequently launched site preparation at the high-grade Phoenix deposit in March, targeting initial production by mid-2028.

Commercially, the project’s momentum remains intact. Denison has locked in sales commitments for nearly 8 million pounds of uranium concentrate at an average realized price exceeding US$99 per pound for near-term deliveries, with negotiations underway for another 8 million pounds targeting North American utilities.